Crime Branch to probe fire in Delhi`s Bawana area

Following a blaze that gutted a firecracker storage unit in Bawana and claimed 17 lives, the Delhi Fire Services has decided to undertake a fire safety audit of the factories in the area.

New Delhi: A day after a factory fire killed 17 persons in west Delhi's Bawana area, the case was transferred to the Crime branch for a probe by Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik.

On the other hand, Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajneesh Gupta that Manoj Jain, owner of the plastic factory that was also used as a warehouse for firecrackers, had been arrested. 

Jain was taken into custody on Saturday night after brief questioning as police filed an FIR against him under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosives Act dealing with negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing hurt by acts endangering life or personal safety of others. 

The DCP said an injured labourer claimed that firecrackers were packed in the factory. 

The fire in the Bawana Industrial Area was reported to the Police Control Room around 6.20 pm on Saturday. The victims were trapped in the basement and the first and second floors when the fire spread from the basement.

After visiting the spot, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered a probe and announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased.

He said it will be investigated how a licence was given to the establishment, who gave it and also how the incident happened.

Meanwhile, following a blaze, the Delhi Fire Services has decided to undertake a fire safety audit of the factories in the area, a senior department official said on Sunday.

GC Mishra, Director, Delhi Fire Services, said electric cables run haywire in the area where the blaze occurred.

"An inquiry is being conducted and it will follow the due process of law. I will not offer any technical comment on the cause of the fire. The electric cables were running haywire. The investigating agencies and forensic teams might look into it," he said.

The department will also be checking other factories in the industrial area for fire safety measures. "After every fire incident, such measures follow," he Mishra.

(With IANS and PTI inputs)